The great Bobby Robson has spoken today about the Newcastle United club he loves so much, and the thing he wants to see more than anything is a top manager drafted into the club.
Bobby Robson – with wife Elsie – he’s a legend!
Bobby spoke today about the importance of a top manager:
“The club, financially, has to be stable,” “But the most important thing for me is the same as it’s always been. The appointment of a top manager is crucial. He’s the puppet master, he pulls the strings.”
“All the big, successful clubs have top managers who know the game, can impart that knowledge, who are a good judge of a player, a good tactician, an enthusiast, who get on with the players and know how to handle big players and discipline them.”
“Without that sort of manager, you will not run a big club. All the top managers have it: Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, I’d like to think I was one of them. And it takes time. I was at Newcastle five years and it took two years to get it together. Then we finished third, fourth and fifth and then they sacked me.”
“What Newcastle needs is a top-class manager and without that, they won’t succeed. We need someone who comes to Newcastle and lives in Newcastle.”
“Whether Kevin will come back or whether they’ll give it to Alan or a combination of the two or someone else entirely, I don’t know,” “But I think both (Shearer and Keegan) are realistic prospects. And I think they’d be welcome, too.”
“Alan might not have any experience, but he knows what the club is all about, knows the supporters, knows how they feel and he’d be dedicated to it. I think Alan will make a good manager.”
We think Shearer has everything it takes to be a top manager, and would love to see him paired with an experienced older manager for a couple of years. Maybe that could be Terry Venables, whom he admires a lot from his England days, or even Kevin Keegan, although Alan doesn’t really want to work under anybody at the club.
Certainly Roy Keane showed he could come in and make an immediate difference, when he took over Sunderland a couple of years ago, for his first stint in management. And look where Roy’s taken them in the short time he’s been in charge.
The choice of a manager will be the new owener’s first and most important decision.
Comments welcome.
23 comments so far
Sasv
Oct 20, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Comment #1Concentrating on where we are now. JFK and man. City tonight with a skeletal squad.
BUDGIE
Oct 20, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Comment #2If only Sir Bobby was 20 years younger, I now where my vote would go.Not sure about Shearer needs to prove himself somewhere.Keegan still my number one choice, needs to finish what he started all those years ago. You had to be there, and if it all falls flat at least we will know and start again.
broon ale
Oct 20, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Comment #3stop it with the terry venables thing Ed. He is an absolute clown! check his record out! its crap! even his england record at euro 96 wasnt great. played 5, won 2, drew 2 and lost one! nothing special.
selly no skill
Oct 20, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Comment #4forget about keegan now,love the man but he’s had two dips at it,albeit he plays good football.he lacks tactical nous against the top managers,his motivational abilities and his likeable persona will probably take us to top six but thats it.lets have a clean slate for a new era,shearer on his own no old manager telling him how to do it .hes a mans man and too stubborn to listen to other peoples ideas anyway.give him a long contract and let him have who he wants as back up.
broon ale
Oct 20, 2008 at 10:49 AM
Comment #5i do feel we should forget about Keegan aswell.
broon ale
Oct 20, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Comment #6selly no skill. would you class fergie as a top manager? Just wondering what you thought of the first game of the season and how keegans tactics faired against fergusons.
Rasko a.k.a Hadji
Oct 20, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Comment #7Maybe JK is a top manager in the making,but even if you bring Alex,Jose and Arsene all together,they couldnt do much with the current squad we have atm.
My team for next season
……………………………Given……………………………
………………Coloccini………..Subotic………………..
Beye………………………………………………Pranjic…
………………………….Barton…………………………….
……..Jonas………………………………….N’Zogbia…..
………………………Thiago Neves………………………
………………..Pandev………….Martins……………….
graeme
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Comment #8As a manager, Shearer has done nothing. If he was seriously interested in becoming a top rate manager he needs to get down into the Football League and learn what its all about. There are very few players make it as a top manager.
Shearer is far too comfortable earning big bucks warming a BBC sofa. He has swapped his drive and passion for an easy life, but cant blame him for that, if thats what he wants to do.
broon ale
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Comment #9i dont buy into the notion that a manager has to earn his corn in the lower levels before being considered for a premier league job. Keane and southgate are doing just fine. Mark hughes went straight into the welsh national team, to blackburn to man city.
Rasko a.k.a Hadji
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Comment #10Keane and Southgate doing fine…..aha yeah right.
Keane started in the Championship not in the Premier and with the players he has and money he spent atm he should be doing better.
Southgate……I wouldn’t even give him Darlington never mind Middlesbrough. 🙂
broon ale
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Comment #11no one can argue that keane hasnt done a good job.
Rasko a.k.a Hadji
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Comment #12He made a decent job Broon Ale but not good.
Tom_Toon
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Comment #13No to Shearer! He has no ambition to manage a lower league club first, he does not deserve it!
Get Terim or Ketsbaia!
daniel...
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Comment #14i hsve spoke to me dads mate who is a taxi driver, said he was at a red light and who was in the car next to him? alan shearer, he said he was a top bloak and was talking like to one of his mates. he replied to the question of would you take the newcastle job by saying “i woul not take that job if it was the last job on earth”
so all of yous saying we shold get him…
we have no chance!!!!
Macas
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Comment #15How doesn’t Shearer deserve it? He’s the one ex-player you think may be able to do a decent job. And I agree with broon ale, you dont have to work your way up to be able to manage, you either know football or you don’t. A certain Mr Keegan didn’t do too badly for us first time round.
Gordon
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Comment #16Ed, you missed out loads of really interesting points SBR made about the club’s current situation:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4360529,00.html
Don’t filter just the positive stuff or you’re just as bad as the tabloids which filter just the negative stuff. Both approaches create false impressions of what is going on.
dave
Oct 20, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Comment #17Ed.
Why on earth would we want Venables and although Shearer was a superb player that does not mean that he has the necessary experience or qualifictions to suceed as a manager at what is one of the hardest jobs in football.
JK is doing a good job with limited resources and a very poor infrastructure and he is the bloke we shoud be routing for at the moment instead of your tiring repetitive speculation as to what may or may not be.
Marty-TOON RISING
Oct 20, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Comment #18Not Shearer!!!
He has the Heart i`m sure but the pressure that this club is at th Moment-why would he even consider it?
We need stability and then a chance for Big Al.
Tom-Toon….Ketsbia??????Experience????
Know how???? i Don`t think so mate.
Van Gaal i reckon
KK FOREVER (Ross)
Oct 20, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Comment #19daniel…were the lights broken? thats a canny conversation to be having in the 30 seconds or so they were there! haha 😉
chuck
Oct 20, 2008 at 3:26 PM
Comment #20Agree to an extent, yeah a manager of the right caliber is essential, but no Shearers or Keegans please, or any combinations like El Tel and Shearer, or KK, Shearer.
A recipe for disaster.
If Shearer thinks he can manage then its on the job training like anyone else, personally dont think he has the stomach for it.
There are excellent managers out there, especially the Dutch, Van Gaal, Hiddink, Jol etc.
who could be tempted with the right approach.
We certainly need someone of that caliber, rather than an untried ex player or a re tread.
Tom_Toon
Oct 20, 2008 at 3:48 PM
Comment #21Marty – Do you know what you are talking about? I think not, manager for almost 5 years, numerous league titles and cups and got his team into the champions league.
wigaz
Oct 20, 2008 at 5:10 PM
Comment #22Great words from a great man! but i’ve gotta put my vote forward to either Van Haal Hiddink or sven! their all top class managers with proven records. We need someone already experienced looking for the ultimate challenge! as long as their backed & most importantly we give them time. I’m keen to see hoe JFK does? he has certainly won us over with his F**K u attitude much like mourinio did only joe aint as cool!
NASMIE JACOBS
Oct 21, 2008 at 12:27 AM
Comment #23WE DO NEED A TOP MANAGER BUT DONT FORGET WE NEED A NEW TEAM AS WELL .OUR GAME AGAINST CITY WAS NOT THAT BAD NEITHER GOOD .WE SERIOUSLY LACK THAT EXTRA BIT OF ZEST.BUT WELL DONE TO OUR CURRENT TEAM ON THE CITY RESULT .SHEARER WAS A GREAT PLAYER BUT NEED TO PROVE HIMSELF AS A MANAGER AT THIS MOMENT HE’S AFRAID OF FAILURE .WE NEED TO LOOK BEYOND KEEGAN AND SHEARER .DO WE WANT TO BE A MID TABLE TEAM FOREVER .KEEGAN WAS GREAT AND IF HE REALLY LOVED THE CLUB AS WE DO HE WOULD’NT HAVE WALK OUT ON US [TWICE].HE WAS THE REASON I BECAME A TOON SOLDIER .BUT NOW HE DONT LOVE THE CLUB LIKE WE DO.I THINK KINNEAR HAS MORE HEART THAN KEEGAN HAS AT THIS MOMENT FOR NUFC.WITH TIME KINNEAR WILL STEAL OUR HEARTS WITH HIS DESIRE FOR SUCCESS.BEST OF LUCK TO KINNEAR AND STAFF.HOWAY THE LADS .SOUTH AFRICAN TOON SOLDIER